By the time most of the unpacking was done in our new house, I had quite the To-Do list of items needing repairs or updates. Then Carl, my father-in-law, came to visit and said, "Let's take a look...."
I can't remember how many trips my father-in-law and I made to the hardware store during the days he was here, but it was quite a few. I kept happily crossing off task after task. The over-the-door shoe rack was converted to a wall rack in the back of the closet. There's a new safety handle on the basement stairs. He also gave new life to several toys Eli was outgrowing.
Eli's beloved tot kitchen is now a big boy kitchen thanks to a sturdy homemade platform giving it six more inches in height.
Eli's second-hand water table has a lot of play life left in it from mudpie mixing to toy boats to action figure landscapes, yet it was too short and had wobbly plastic legs. Carl raised it up on sturdy supports.
And then there's the super cool project. Carl installed a swing from the exposed rafters of the basement ceiling. How spiffy is it that a kid can swing inside on a hot or rainy day?
I love it that my To Do list shrank greatly. I love it that Eli will get more use now out of favorite toys. But I also loved having somebody to problem-solve with. Almost a decade ago now, I bought my own house and loved learning how to fix and remodel things. But in the years since I sold the place, I've become rusty from living in rentals. It was great to fire up the power tools, practice old skills with someone more experienced as a guide.
Perhaps most of all, I loved that Eli had a chance to watch Granddad work and try helping out. It was a taste of problem solving and the creative process. He got to see that everything doesn't come ready-made in a store but also that store items can be altered. He learned some new skills.
As I stood in the garage, helping and watching Carl work, it didn't escape my notice that a lot of the tools were ones I inherited from my father. Dad loved to work with wood. The house I grew up in was full of shelves he built and benefitted from quite a few do-it-yourself projects. As Carl used Dad's tools on Eli's toys, I felt a lump in my throat. My dad would so love to be here, enjoying using those tools to benefit the same small grandson.
Then I also thought that my father -- a very wise and thoughtful man -- would be grateful if he could look down and see. The toys got fixed and the boy learned important things even if a different man was holding the tools. I know that Carl is the man Eli will instantly picture when someone says the word 'grandfather.' My father-in-law does honor to that title. Like my own father, Carl is kind, giving, and upstanding. It isn't an easy thing to say, but I am grateful Carl is there to take up the tools, to be two grandfathers in one.
(Above: My father standing with the playhouse he built. My brother is going down the slide and that's me on deck. I was three.)
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